An unimaginable tragedy unfolded in Ohio when a toddler met a fatal accident in the back of her family’s newly purchased Hyundai SUV. Heart-wrenching bodycam footage captured the desperate attempts to save the young girl, as shocked onlookers and a bewildered father witnessed the unfolding calamity.
Lucia Ayala, just two years old, lost her life on the morning of March 7 in Akron. According to the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office, the incident occurred when a power seat in the 2026 Hyundai Palisade unexpectedly collapsed, trapping her inside the vehicle.
The examiner determined that Lucia’s untimely death was an accident, resulting from mechanical asphyxia.
It was indicated by the medical examiner that a button might have been inadvertently pressed, causing one of the rear seats in the SUV to move forward, ultimately leading to Lucia being fatally pinned.
In footage released to the public, an officer from the Akron Police Department can be seen rushing into the Restaurant Depot parking lot on Sweitzer Avenue.
The video, which has been blurred due to its distressing content, shows Lucia lying unconscious on the ground, dressed in a white shirt and pink pants, while a woman and a police officer perform CPR in a bid to revive her.
The youngster’s shellshocked father, identified as Arnoldo Ayala in a public obituary, was later seen in bodycam footage speaking with an officer and trying to desperately work out how the car seat could have possibly trapped Lucia.
Last month’s tragedy prompted Hyundai to issue a recall of the make and model involved, as a full investigation continues into Lucia’s death.
Lucia Ayala, two, died on March 7 after a power seat in a 2026 Hyundai Palisade SUV suddenly pinned her down and fatally trapped her
First responders attempted to perform life-saving measures on Lucia after she was removed from the power seat, body camera footage obtained by the Daily Mail showed
The footage showed a man that Akron police said was Lucia’s dad trying speaking with a law enforcement officer and tying to understand what happened to the SUV’s seat
The bodycam footage showed Lucia’s dad telling police that his SUV’s seats were ‘not working.’
‘Right now, I’m trying to put it up,’ he said. ‘It’s not working. I don’t know because we pulled it up so hard or something.’
A child safety seat was laid out to the side of the SUV as the conversation happened.
Investigators have yet to release full details of what happened to Lucia, but the medical examiner told the Daily Mail that her death was described as a ‘child compressed by power folding seat in a parked SUV.’
A complete review of Lucia’s death is expected to take up to 12 weeks.
Lt. Michael Murphy confirmed to the Daily Mail on Friday morning that Lucia’s death had been deemed accidental.
He was unable to comment on whether an issue with one of the car’s buttons used to activate the seat might have been to blame.
‘It’s one of those things where it’s really a freak accident where, however, the button was pressed, it went down and essentially crushed the child,’ Murphy told the Daily Mail.
He pointed to the bodycam video to explain what might have happened.
‘You can see that seat on the left side would not retract back up, and then he presses the button, and it shows that the right side or the passenger side is completely operable,’ Murphy said.
The Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office told the Daily Man that Ayala, of Cuyahoga Falls, died due to mechanical asphyxia
The Daily Mail has blurred images of Lucia obtained via bodycam footage due to their distressing nature
Lucia was survived by her parents, Victoria Piermarini and Arnoldo Ayala, and her older sister Valentina, according to a public obituary
A photo taken of the interior of the 2026 Hyundai Palisade SUV that was involved in Lucia’s death
Murphy told the Daily Mail that multiple bystanders pulled Lucia out of the seat and started giving her CPR afterwards.
Murphy added that no charges would stem from Lucia’s accidental death.
A public obituary said Lucia was survived by her dad Arnoldo Ayala, her mother Victoria, her older sister Valentina and a large extended family including grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins.
It also noted that the little girl’s name had been chosen intentionally, as Lucia means ‘light.’
‘Never has a name been more perfectly given,’ the obit read. ‘Not only did Lucia come into our lives during a season when our family needed her light to shine brightest, but her flame continued to grow and guide us through one of the most pivotal chapters of our lives for two years.’
Lucia was remembered as ‘running around with her many cousins, always trying to keep up with the older kids & making us all laugh.’
A family friend, Michael Yeho, confirmed that he knew about Lucia’s death when contacted by the Daily Mail on Thursday afternoon.
‘Our kids grew up with with their kids,’ Yeho said.
He added that Lucia’s parents were ‘wonderful contributors to the community, very active in their faith.’
‘Just the kind of people you want to have in your life,’ Yeho told the Daily Mail.
A photo of the SUV involved in the accident that killed Lucia, courtesy of the Akron Police Department
Lucia was pulled out of the seat by multiple bystanders who then attempted to revive her, according to the Akron police
Hyundai North America announced on March 13 that it had issued a recall of its 2026 Hyundai Palisade Limited and Calligraphy trims
Another photo taken of the interior of the 2026 Hyundai Palisade SUV that was involved in Lucia’s death
Lucia’s funeral was officiated by pastor Jared Orndorff of the Saint Joseph Parish.
When the Daily Mail called the publicly listed number for Orndorff, a church worker said that he was out of town until the end of April but confirmed the funeral had taken place.
Six days after Lucia’s death, Hyundai North America announced that it had issued a recall of its 2026 Hyundai Palisade Limited and Calligraphy trims on ‘due to an issue with the second and third-row power seats.’
The company also addressed Lucia’s death, though they did not directly name the little girl, saying it was ‘aware of a tragic incident involving a Palisade.’
Hyundai North America told the Daily Mail that it had ‘finalized the remedy’ for the recall campaign.
‘The final remedy is a software update that addresses a condition in which these power seat functions may not detect contact with an occupant or object as intended,’ a Hyundai North America spokesperson said.
Hyundai added that the update was designed to ‘enhance occupant and object detection.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to Lucia’s parents, Arnoldo Ayala and Victoria Piermarini, as well as extended family members for further comment.
